Ann Liao is a fashion blogger and a young
entrepreneur with a very clear statement
about global sustainability, ethical fashion
and social responsability in every project or
company she is involved.
She has been recently an invited lecturer
and panel judge at Ivanovos Textile Capital
Festival in Russia and a main participating
brand and lecturer at this year Taiwan’s
first Fashion Revolution Event.

With a long trajectory living in different
countries since a very early age and the
experience of working in multiple projects
Ann Liao is now in Taipei for a good reason, changing the ethics of the fashion industry
in Taiwan. We chat with her to know everything about her background, her projects
and what will be the next move for the
design field in Taipei.

R. Hello, Ann! Pleased to meet you. You are a very talented young entrepreneur and fashion blogger, but we at River would love to know how your journey began and a little about your background. Could you introduce us to Ann Liao?

A. Thank you so much for having me, I would describe myself as passionately curious by nature. I was born here in Taipei, Taiwan but left the country when I was only a few months old. My family moved to South Africa, and for ten years of my life I grew up in Johannesburg; after that, it was the United States, Holland, Taiwan, Australia and South Korea. I furthered my studies in Melbourne Australia and Mainz Germany studying communication design.

I found myself deeply inspired by human stories and connections. I became curious about design and how it interacts with us on a daily basis. So I took on projects related to street fashion, art direction, photography, graphic design, creative direction and teaching; working on projects which allowed me to learn about various types of businesses and what inspired people to start them.

Around four years ago I ventured into social entrepreneurship; because of the way I was raised, I felt privileged and given opportunities I knew I could use to give back to society. People have such amazing talents and skills, but without the right team supporting them they are unable to truly flourish. So I set out to learn, learn from various industry experts, people whom genuinely cared about the environment, education, global citizenship and connect them to others who were like-minded so together new projects can form.

TOTES & TEES is a social Enterprise founded here in Taipei, Taiwan. What initially began as a project dedicated to nurturing creative & critical thinking to empower children has evolved into a social Enterprise dedicated to empowering children and adults. Through Design Thinking, Graphic Design, Global Citizenship, Ethical Fashion and environmental protection; we hope to nurture empathy through our brand and share meaningful conversations.

My online website Hey Liao! is dedicated to sharing tips on social entrepreneurship, Eco Urban Tourism and Plant-based Foods. I hope to show my readers and friends that each of us have the power to make our society kinder and our everyday choices + shifts can create a huge difference. As a collective society, which we are, we can achieve great outcomes which instead of hurting others can help others.

R. You have been living in different countries and travelling to many places before residing and establishing yourself here in Taipei, Taiwan, could you tell us more what brought you here?

A. After studying in Melbourne Australia, my mother opened a cafe in Taipei city and her biomedical company which needed design and branding. I've never actually lived and worked in Taiwan so I thought it was a great opportunity for me to learn Mandarin and support my family in a way that I could.

R. We know from all of your projects you align your mind with your values (social responsibility, integrity, transparency, ethics - human rights, animals rights and environmental protection.) to the best of your abilities. Could you explain to us how you combine your ethics with your projects and has there been a time you had to compensate a value to get a project finished?

A. Life as we know it, is not black and white, there are many grey areas in life, and that's certainly true in business. There were certainly moments where I did have to "compensate" certain things but never to my core values. TOTES & TEES is about always working hard and doing the best for our environment and children (you and I) I don't believe we can be perfect but we can do better, that's good enough for me. Always open to learning and doing better!

I had people who told me to first teach my courses but not use ethical fabrics and manufacturing, but I refused. It took me a long time to form the company and begin because I believe details are important and integrity matters. I believe it is always worth it to be true to a core value like - kindness. People will respect you and support you, it's priceless and it pays off. I think if we are given a choice to do better and kinder we ought to do so. It's a human responsibility to preserve our environment since we all live here.

However, I work in a creative industry and we need design software and other "tools", and not all of those components are fairly produced. That makes me sad but I know that as a collective we need to make changes where we can and we must focus on always doing what we can and not on what we can't, it's more productive that way.

R. How do you wish to inspire more people to support ethical fashion and why is it important?

A. I hope through my personal projects and my company other people can see that purchasing ethically made goods isn't as hard to do, trying is always an option. Fashion is the second largest polluter in the world and a mega-urban industry, it spans + effects almost all continents and countries. It affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, human and animal lives. Every day this motivates me to keep working hard because there is still lots to be done.

R. After having lived in many parts of the world, would you say there is still a lot to be done here in Taiwan? In regards to sustainability and green businesses?

A. Yes, I believe so, as a global network we are becoming a lot more aware of how important our environment is. In Taiwan, the idea of living Lohas has been around for a long while, but it is still a niche audience. I think the key now is to show how living green and starting green businesses is something worth investing in for long-term growth and sustainable income; like any business, it is hard work, but the long-term benefits outweigh the cons.

I think we need to become aware of greenwashing and what that is. I see many "festivals" advocating for a "green lifestyle" only to find that the product is handmade, but the sources + manufacturing of the fabrics are unknown. The raw materials are one of the most critical components to a genuinely green business.

R. How would you compare Taiwan to other parts of the world from a design perspective?

A. Taiwan has a lot to offer regarding talents; however, we need more alliances, more teamwork and better organizations within the design and creative fields to succeed globally. The skill of storytelling, understanding a companies own core values need to be strengthened. Taiwan is amazing for its OEM and manufacturing companies, but as we are entering a new era, a companies core values and how it competes + collaborates as a leader in its field will prove to be the formula for survival.

R. What are you currently working on, any new ideas for future projects?

There are a few projects underway, they are all related to making ethical fashion more accessible to the public as well as building a strong ethical fashion supply chain and infrastructure in Taiwan. I hope more creatives will benefit from them and can start on a better foundation when they venture into businesses within the fashion industry.

TOTES & TEES will be collaborating with more international platforms and brands in the upcoming year. Please stay tuned for us!